Location: Riga
Top Things to do in Riga
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Things to do in Riga, Riga Region: The Best Points of Interest & Landmarks
The Latvian capital, the largest city in the Baltics, is a fascinating mixture of proud Latvian tradition and influences of the various countries that have occupied it. Independent once again since 1991, Riga's Art Nouveau center has won it UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. Opened up to mass tourism with the advent of budget air travel, Riga's Old City and its abundance of bars and restaurants can be explored on foot. The New Town is easily reached by an efficient and modern bus and tram network.
Restaurants in Riga
1. VEF
2. VEF culture palace
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
3. House of the Black Heads
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,780 reviews
Closed for Covid-19 at the moment. On the last Saturday of month - join open FREE guided tour at 13:00 on English! Get the 1h tour with guide for free, pay only the entrance fee! Pre-reservation is necessary on website or by e-mail. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in Riga, with a unique legacy of the Black Heads brotherhood that was established here at the end of the 14th century, along with the existing merchants’ guild. The young and joyful foreign merchants united in the brotherhood organized splendid events, later becoming honorable members of the local community. As time passed the house began to host visits of foreign kings and other noble guests and continues to fulfill this task up to today – concerts, balls, gala dinners and diplomatic receptions are frequently organized here. Now every visitor has the chance to explore the exhibition about the history and economic development of Riga City.
Reviewed By Nitvoyodelo - Vineland, United States
The original building was from the 13-14th Century. It was the home of a guild called the Black Heads, merchants, ship owners and foreigners in Riga. The building sustained damage during WWII and later rebuilt, after the fall of Communism.
4. Riga Town Hall Square
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,030 reviews
Reviewed By malcolmc998 - St. Neots, United Kingdom
Well worth a visit to The House of Blackheads which has an intriguing history going back hundreds of years, plus Workd War2 and the Russian occupation
5. Old City Riga (Vecriga)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 7,115 reviews
This charming maze of narrow and crooked cobblestone streets is filled with a mixture of architectural styles including Nordic, Gothic, Renaissance, baroque and Jugendstil, plus such historic sites as the 13th-century Riga Castle, St. Peter's Church, the Swedish Gate and the Freedom Monument.
Reviewed By 591raye - Tilburg, The Netherlands
Visited Riga for a long weekend without any expectations. Now I’m convinced, it’s one of the greatest cities with a great architecture, a great atmosphere and just a great ambiance???????? Discover the different squares with a lot of restaurants and bars with live music. Look at the street artists making art with fire , the opera singer , the street music bands and so on.
6. Jauniela
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 305 reviews
Reviewed By Coryy20 - Port of Spain, Caribbean
Jauniela is for sure a very lively street with its winding cobblestone street. This are can lead you into other streets. The street is narrow and I must advice to leave the uncomfortable high heels at home. Please wear comfy cushioned shoes for these roads. Jauniela has lots of charm and many people seem to love this street as well. It just has a lot of charm about it.
7. Bikernieki Memorial
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 49 reviews
Reviewed By PBTravelstheWorld - Woodinville, United States
Very moving Holocaust Memorial in outskirts of city in forest area. Very little parking and hard to find following GPS and address, then you see the white arches and realize that you are there. As you walk from the road into a forested area the noise of the city goes away and the forest encloses the area. The rough stone markers are similar to those used at the Treblinka Holocaust Memorial and represent all the places that people were taken from. Might be good to go with others as there were some broken bottles and graffiti present and it is secluded.
8. Rumbula Forest Memorial
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 59 reviews
Reviewed By Hawk470 - Baltimore, United States
No memorial can do justice to the atrocities committed here or to the victims who were murdered, but as a memorial to remind the living of the worst that humans can do to humans, Rumbula is exceptional. The event itself is inconceivable. Row after row day after day from 30 November - 8 December 1941, in a well planned and executed conveyor belt of slaughter, innocent men, women and children were lined up and murdered coldly and methodically by the Nazis and their collaborators bullet by bullet layer upon layer in the open pits which became mass graves. Over those nine days 25,000 innocents were executed at Rumbula. How is it possible for humans to do this to other humans? Perhaps most haunting of all was climbing the stairs from the train track to the killing ground. My understanding is that the victims were force marched the 10 kilometers from the Riga Ghetto to Rumbula, with a few elderly or infirm trucked in, but these train tracks recalled for me the tracks leading to Auschwitz-Birkenau – built because the murderous methods deployed in the Baltics were not efficient enough. The descriptive information at the site is pretty spare. A couple of tombstone-like plaques at the entrance in Latvian, English, German, and Hebrew provide an overview of the massacre and the creation of the memorial, so reviewing the Wikipedia entry or another source for the horrifying details of this crime is valuable for those who want more. That said, the reverence of the site speaks volumes. The path through the woods to the memorial is both peaceful and foreboding. The memorial structure itself -- the Star of David topped by a menorah – commemorates the dead. The star is formed from stones engraved with the names of the slaughtered and the streets of the Riga Ghetto. The concrete bordered mass graves surrounding the memorial give you a small sense of the slaughter’s scale. We drove there on our way to Liepaja and missed the entrance because we did not know to look for the dark metal ensnaring-vine-like structure reaching out from the entrance to the edge of the highway at the turnoff, but our GPS gave us good directions. You can also get there by bus. The Rumbula Forest Memorial is truly a place for reflection on what we humans can do at our worst and what we must do to prevent such atrocities in the future.
9. Livu Square
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 319 reviews
Reviewed By Coryy20 - Port of Spain, Caribbean
This square is the lively, happening square down town Riga. There are lots of shops and restaurants and pubs. If you are looking for the hop on hop off bus, it is near here. Many people are milling around enjoying the ambience and the whole casual vibes of this square. If you are looking for a hang out spot in Riga then here is the place to be. A definite must visit is recommended.
10. Riga Stock Exchange Building
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